Since joining CCS in 1981, Gayle Mestel, President/CEO has managed the effective and strategic use of thousands of customer references in a broad range of deliverables, events and campaigns. She manages CCS' business unit that develops outsourced customer reference programs for corporate clients. This includes cultivating and tracking customer relationships, matching those valued alliances to sales and marketing opportunities, as well as developing case studies, testimonial quotes, videos and other marketing communications deliverables to maximize exposure. “Formal customer reference programs are not always top of mind since ad hoc solutions are often relied on instead. We take these programs to the next level to ensure a total positive experience for everyone involved, ensure that all loops are closed and ultimately provide clients with quantifiable metrics,” she says. “CCS has specialized in customer reference program management since day one; our experience and expertise are exceptional.”
Alison Hofland develops customer references for clients to support marketing, advertising, sales and public relations strategies. Customer profiles and success-oriented information are packaged into case studies, video testimonials, customer quotes, presentations, public relations outreach, product and solution launch materials, marketing brochures and executive communications. Prior to CCS, Alison worked as a newspaper reporter then served as director of public relations at a private college in the Midwest. Since joining CCS in 1983, she has developed strong relationships with customers, sales representatives, PR teams and press to successfully implement reference programs and testimonials. Her experience includes achieving thousands of press references, as well as event and marketing references in the form of both interviews and written materials. In addition, she works with marketing communications professionals to develop printed marketing materials that draw on CCS' strengths in writing, photography and design.
Robette Brooks manages marketing and public relations activities for companies involved in the health care and financial services industries. She excels at developing strong relationships with customers that yield exceptional results in the form of testimonials, bylined artficles, trade show seminars, sales presentations and news releases. Robette is a primary writer for the accounts she manages and has authored more than 1,000 articles. She works closely with clients’ PR and marketing staffs to merchandise customer input and content across both types of communications. Prior to joining CCS as a writer/photographer in 1984, Robette was the assistant editor of a medical journal. She is based in Denver, Colorado.
Lauren Wingfield brings 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism, public relations, and marketing to the CCS team. Her career began as a production assistant for ABC News “World News Tonight.” She went on to work as an on-air general assignment reporter for affiliates in several major U.S. cities. Building on her broadcast experience, she served as a PR and corporate communications executive at two major U.S. companies and now serves as an account manager for CCS’ high-tech clients and executive producer for all CCS video production offerings. Her numerous awards include a Bronze Telly for corporate video production. Lauren's special contribution to CCS clients is the know-how and experience to get the job done fast and right. “Coming from a news background, I've worked daily under extreme deadline pressure,” she says. “I know how to control costs and harness creativity to get results.” Lauren holds an advanced degree in Broadcast Journalism from Stanford University and a bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism from San Francisco State University.
